Method and apparatus for utilizing used batteries to surface charge an automobile battery

ABSTRACT

Method and apparatus comprising used batteries for surface charging an automobile battery. A surface charge provides a time limited window in which to start a vehicle comprising a surface charged battery for example. Use of used batteries provides for environmentally effective manner in which to deal with the tremendous amount of used batteries that are discarded worldwide each year. The apparatus may comprise a charging circuit to allow for recharging the used batteries. Recharging “non-rechargeable” batteries at least once provides a destination for used batteries that have until now been discarded. Embodiments may comprise an LED to signify when a target battery comprises sufficient surface charge to warrant an attempt to start an engine. The apparatus is a small portable device that can stored anywhere in a vehicle.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/561,866 filed on Nov. 20, 2006, which is hereby incorporated byreference in its entirety into this specification. That applicationclaims priority to a U.S. Provisional patent application which isco-owned by a common assignee. That provisional application is Ser. No.60/738,329 filed on Nov. 18, 2005, filed the specification of which isalso hereby incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

Embodiments of the invention described herein pertain to the field ofelectrical systems. More particularly, but not by way of limitation, oneor more embodiments of the invention comprise for example used householdbatteries to surface charge a car battery for a limited time to enablethe battery to start an engine.

2. Description of the Related Art

Existing solutions allow for a battery source to provide a surfacecharge to a battery. Once the surface charge exists on the battery,there is a limited amount of time in which the battery may be used tostart an engine in a vehicle. If the battery in the vehicle has been rundown by an energy drain (for example by leaving the head lights on), aquick surface charge usually provides enough energy to start the enginein the vehicle. Existing solutions use new batteries to charge a targetbattery, such as, for example, an automobile battery. The use of newbatteries is not environmentally friendly since there are existing usedbatteries that could be used to charge a target battery, however therelated art does not contemplate the use of used batteries for thispurpose.

On a global scale there are millions of non-rechargeable batteries usedevery year that are simply discarded, for example AA batteries. Theenvironmental impact is tremendous in that many types of batteriescontain harmful toxic chemicals that eventually leak into theenvironment. It is currently illegal to use mercury in most batterytypes so the environmental impact is no longer as great as it used tobe. However, there are significant chemical resources in the multitudeof discarded batteries that are simply discarded but which could berecycled. It is estimated that over 350 million rechargeable batteriesare purchased in the United States every year. Even so, these batteriesdo not last forever and many are eventually discarded as well.

Alkaline batteries manufactured and sold in the United States aregenerally labeled with warnings that state that the batteries in anysize are not rechargeable and users are warned against recharging thebatteries. Some manufacturers have designed specific alkaline batteriesfor rechargeable use, but those batteries are sold at a higher premiumprice and are only rechargeable with the aid of the manufacturer'scharging system. The design of these specific “rechargeable” alkalinebatteries is supposed to be different than the typical alkalinebatteries sold in high volume in most stores around the world. However,most alkaline batteries are “use once and discard” products that pose asignificant environmental hazard.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,883,491, entitled “method and apparatus for depositingan electrical charge to an electrical storage cell used in anautomobile,” describes the basic functions associated with providing asurface charge to a battery. The energy source described in the '491patent may comprise a variety of electrical sources; however using usedbatteries for this purpose is not contemplated.

For at least the limitations described above there is a need forapplications of used batteries so that these batteries are not discardedinto the environment and hence there is a need for a method andapparatus comprising used batteries for surface charging an automobilebattery.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One or more embodiments of the invention enable a method and apparatuscomprising used batteries for surface charging an automobile battery.The apparatus comprises at least one used battery inserted into a casethat is coupled with a target battery to provide a surface charge to thebattery, for example to start a vehicle with a drained battery. Types ofused batteries that may be utilized in embodiments of the inventioninclude alkaline/alkaline manganese, zinc carbon/carbon zinc, zinc air,silver oxide/silver, lithium, nickel cadmium, nickel metal hydride,lithium ion and small sealed lead acid batteries. Many of thesebatteries comprise materials that are not environmentally friendly.

The apparatus case is sealed with a case top. The seal may include atongue and groove coupling or any other type of sealing mechanism.Inside the case, a circuit board and a panel on opposing sides of the atleast one used battery provide for connecting the at least one usedbattery in series. The circuit board may be constructed using any typeof material utilized in circuit board construction, for exampleepoxy-glass laminates or cardboard or any other material. A compressiveinsert may be utilized to provide force sufficient to hold the at leastone used battery against the circuit board and the panel. An electricalconnector coupled with the case top provides a positive lead and anegative lead coupled with the at least one used battery and providesfor an interface with a target battery, such as an automotive battery.Fuses may be utilized to protect the apparatus from too high of acurrent load and may be utilized in any portion of the circuit inkeeping with the spirit of the invention.

One or more embodiments of the invention comprise at least one resistorin series with the positive lead. The at least one resistor isconfigured to limit current from the at least one used battery to thetarget battery. This limiting effect slows the time that it takes tocharge the target battery but allows for lower heat to be generated,albeit over a longer period of time. By limiting the heat generated, ameasure of safety is provided. By utilizing some of the at least oneused batteries as heat sinks, the speed at which a surface charge may bedeposited into the target battery may be increased. The at least oneresistor may be placed against one more used batteries to increase thethermal transfer rate. The at least one resistor may be enclosed in athermally conductive material that is electrically insulating to providefor efficient thermal transfer with an additional measure of safety. Inother embodiments of the invention, the resistors may be mounted on thecircuit board or outside the case.

The at least one battery in the case may form a series of batteries thatare in contact with both the panel and circuit board. The panel may beflexible so that differences in battery heights may be accounted for.The compressive insert may be foam based or may comprise any othermaterial(s) that provide a spring-like capability that forces thebattery ends onto the respective conductive lines/paths that exist onthe panel and circuit board.

In addition, the apparatus may comprise a switch that allows for manualconnection of the at least one used battery to the target battery. Theswitch may also be used to connect the target battery to an LED todisplay a status indicator showing whether the target battery comprisesa sufficient charge to warrant an attempt to start the vehicles enginethat is coupled to the target battery for example. The apparatus mayalso comprise a charging circuit and the switch may be used in anycombination with the connection to the target battery or LED or chargingcircuit. Alternatively, in a non-switch embodiment, the electricalcircuit in the apparatus may automatically charge the target battery ormay charge the at least one used battery, depending on the voltagespresented to the apparatus.

The apparatus may also comprise a protection circuit that protects theat least one used battery from a maximum charging current when thecharging circuit is used. This may be accomplished with a low wattagediode, for example, that may form an open circuit when too much currentflows through it.

Although any type of used battery may be utilized in the apparatus,non-rechargeable alkaline batteries may be utilized in a limited numberof recharge cycles. If carefully charged according to this method,non-rechargeable alkaline batteries may comprise the at least one usedbattery of the apparatus. Whether recharged or not, if each of the atleast one used batteries inserted into the apparatus comprises a chargeof at least 1.2 volts, then generally enough voltage will be present forthe batteries to be used in embodiments of the invention. Thus,batteries at the end of their life to be utilized in an applicationwhere normally these batteries would be discarded. Further embodimentsof the invention are detailed in the detailed description below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects, features and advantages of the inventionwill be more apparent from the following more particular descriptionthereof, presented in conjunction with the following drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of an embodiment of the apparatus formedinto a case mimicking the shape of an automotive battery.

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of an embodiment of the apparatus.

FIG. 3A is an electrical schematic for an embodiment of the inventioncomprising a charging circuit for charging an automobile battery viaused batteries.

FIG. 3B is an electrical schematic for an embodiment of the inventioncomprising a charging circuit for charging an automobile battery viaused batteries at a different rate than the embodiment shown in FIG. 3A.

FIG. 4 is an electrical schematic for a protection circuit for limitingthe current flow to and from the used batteries.

FIG. 5 shows an embodiment of the panel with conductive areas allowingfor the at least one used battery to be connected in series.

FIG. 6 shows an embodiment of both sides of the circuit board, allowingfor conductive lines to form a series configuration of the at least oneused batteries.

FIG. 7 shows a flowchart of an embodiment of a method for utilizing anembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 8 shows an embodiment of the circuit board of FIG. 6 withprotection circuitry of FIG. 4 included.

FIG. 9 shows a waveform combination of Direct Current and AlternatingCurrent used to allow charging of batteries in one or more embodiments.

FIG. 10 shows an exemplary charging diagram employing the method of FIG.9 is shown for one or more embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A method and apparatus comprising used batteries for surface charging anautomobile battery will now be described. In the following exemplarydescription numerous specific details are set forth in order to providea more thorough understanding of embodiments of the invention. It willbe apparent, however, to an artisan of ordinary skill that the presentinvention may be practiced without incorporating all aspects of thespecific details described herein. In other instances, specificfeatures, quantities, or measurements well known to those of ordinaryskill in the art have not been described in detail so as not to obscurethe invention. Readers should note that although examples of theinvention are set forth herein, the claims, and the full scope of anyequivalents, are what define the metes and bounds of the invention.

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of an embodiment of the invention 100 formedinto a case mimicking the shape of an automotive battery. Any shape maybe used for the case top. One or more embodiments of the inventionenable a method and apparatus comprising used batteries for surfacecharging an automobile battery.

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of an embodiment of the apparatus. Theapparatus comprises at least one used battery 104 inserted into case 106that is coupled with a target battery to provide a surface charge to thebattery, for example to start a vehicle with a drained battery. Types ofused batteries that may be utilized in embodiments of the inventioninclude alkaline/alkaline manganese, zinc carbon/carbon zinc, zinc air,silver oxide/silver, lithium, nickel cadmium, nickel metal hydride,lithium ion and small sealed lead acid batteries. Many of thesebatteries comprise materials that are not environmentally friendly. Theapparatus case is sealed with case top 101. Inside case 106, circuitboard 103 and panel 105 on opposing sides of the at least one usedbattery 104 provide for connecting the at least one used battery inseries. A compressive insert may be utilized to provide force sufficientto hold the at least one used battery against circuit board 103 andpanel 105. The compressive insert may form a part of circuit board 103or panel 105 or be placed on the opposing side of circuit board 103 orpanel 105 with respect to at least one battery 104. Panel 105 may berigid or flexible. Electrical connector 102 coupled with case top 101provides a positive lead and a negative lead coupled with at least oneused battery 104 and provides for an interface with a target battery(for example a lighter plug or leads to fit on the target battery forexample).

One or more embodiments of the invention allow for charging a targetbattery and recharging used batteries. FIG. 3A is an electricalschematic for an embodiment of the invention comprising charging circuit301 for charging a target battery with used batteries and visa versa.When switch SW1 is set to the “back position”, current can flow from thetarget battery (shown on the far left) through the inductor L1 at thevoltage regulated by U1. U1 in this embodiment is an MC34063 voltageregulator. Any other circuit for limiting the charging voltage andcurrent may be used in place of charging circuit 301. Status circuit 302comprising LED LED1 is shown at the left of the figure and is optional.Status circuit 302 shows a light when the target battery comprises avoltage greater than Zener diode ZD1 (for example 9.1 volts) added tothe forward voltage drop across LED LED1 (typically about 1.5 volts).The embodiment shown in FIG. 3A utilizes a 47 K Ohm resistor for R4 anda 2.2 K Ohm resistor for R5. FIG. 3B utilizes different values forresistors R4 and R5, namely 56 K Ohm and 1.0 K Ohm respectively whichalters the rate of charging the used batteries. Any other values forcharging the used batteries are in keeping with the spirit of theinvention. When switch SW1 is in the “front” position, then charging ofthe target battery takes place wherein the circuit of FIG. 4 is coupledwith the “30 volt Terminal” on the right side of FIGS. 3A-B.

FIG. 4 is an electrical schematic for a protection circuit for limitingthe current flow to and from the used batteries. One or more embodimentsof the invention comprise at least one resistor R1 through R4 in thisexample that is/are in series with the positive lead. For example hookedin series with electrical connector 102 as per FIG. 1. The at least oneresistor is configured to limit current from the at least one usedbattery to the target battery when current flows through the top portionof the circuit as per diode D1. This limiting effect slows the time thatit takes to charge the target battery but allows for lower heat to begenerated, albeit over a longer period of time. By limiting the heatgenerated, a measure of safety is provided. By utilizing some of the atleast one used batteries as heat sinks, the speed at which a surfacecharge may be deposited into the target battery may be increased. The atleast one resistor may be placed against one more used batteries toincrease the thermal transfer rate. The at least one resistor may beenclosed in a thermally conductive material that is electricallyinsulating to provide for efficient thermal transfer with an additionalmeasure of safety. Alternatively, the resistors R1-4 may be mounted onthe circuit board or anywhere else inside or outside the case.

The at least one battery in the case may form a series of batteries thatare in contact with both the panel and circuit board. See FIG. 2. FIG. 5shows an embodiment of panel 501 with conductive areas 502 allowing forthe at least one used battery to be connected in series. The panel maybe flexible so that differences in battery heights may be accounted for.The compressive insert may be foam based or may comprise any othermaterial(s) that provide a spring-like capability that forces thebattery ends onto the respective conductive lines/paths that exist onthe panel and circuit board.

FIG. 6 shows an embodiment of both sides of the circuit board, allowingfor conductive lines 602 for example to form a series configuration ofthe at least one used batteries. Side B shows the locations of the leads603 that connect to the end of the series connected used at least onebattery at the lower right of the figure. The components of the chargingcircuit and protective circuit may be located in any portion of thecircuit board as one skilled in the art will recognize. The exemplaryfigures listed herein are not intended to be limiting versions of theinvention and any other configuration or location for any componentlisted herein is in keeping with the spirit of the invention. Thecircuit board may utilize any type of material including but not limitedto epoxy based substrate or cardboard or any other type of materialutilized in constructing circuit boards.

FIG. 7 shows a flowchart of an embodiment of a method for utilizing anembodiment of the invention. Processing starts at 700. At least one usedbattery is inserted into a case at 701. The case is sealed at 702,enclosing the at least one used battery inside the case. The batteriesare connected in series at 703. Optionally, a compressive insert may beinserted into the case at 704 (note that the order of the steps listedherein is not limiting and any order may be applied). An electricalconnector is exposed at 705 from the case top and the apparatus is thusready for use at 706.

FIG. 8 shows an embodiment of the circuit board of FIG. 6 withprotection circuitry of FIG. 4 included. Side B of FIG. 6 (top) is shownrotated 180 degrees in the upper right portion of the figure. The leftportion of the figure is the side view from the left side of the circuitboard. The bottom right portion of the figure is a front view of thecircuit board, also showing the components of the protection circuitryof FIG. 4. Circuit board 800 comprises 4 two Watt, 1 Ohm resistorslabeled 801 (see front view at bottom right of figure). Resistors 801are coupled with splices 803 and are configured within heat shrink 802.The heat shrink may extend for the entire portion of the resistor groupbeneath the top of circuit board 800 and may comprise a material that isthermally conductive, yet electrically insulating. Regardless, thebatteries may be utilized to provide a heat sink for the power isgenerated through the resistors as current flows to a target battery.Diode 804 corresponds to diode D1 of FIG. 4 and allows current to flowto a target battery through resistors 801. Diode 805 allows current toflow into the used batteries and is generally a lower current carryingdiode than diode 804, although any diodes may be utilized that allow forenough current to charge the target battery and used batteries. Positivecontacts 806 (and 806 a) expose the positive portion of the usedbatteries to allow for coupling with a target battery along withnegative contact 807.

In addition, the apparatus may comprise an optional switch that allowsfor manual connection of the at least one used battery to the targetbattery. The switch may also be used to connect the target battery to anLED to display a status indicator showing whether the target batterycomprises a sufficient charge to warrant an attempt to start thevehicles engine that is coupled to the target battery for example. Theapparatus may also comprise a charging circuit and the switch may beused in any combination with the connection to the target battery or LEDor charging circuit. Alternatively, in a non-switch embodiment, theelectrical circuit in the apparatus automatically charge the targetbattery or the at least one used battery depending on the voltagespresented to the apparatus.

Although any type of the at least one used battery may be utilized,non-rechargeable alkaline batteries may be utilized in a limited numberof recharge cycles. If carefully charged, non-rechargeable alkalinebatteries may comprise the at least one used battery of the apparatus.Whether recharged or not, if each of the at least one used batterycomprises a charge of 1.2 volts or over, then generally the batterycomprises enough voltage to be used in embodiments of the invention.This allows for batteries at the end of their life to be utilized in anapplication where normally these batteries would be discarded.

FIGS. 9 and 10 illustrate a charging technology that will recharge thetypical alkaline batteries which are labeled to have the potential toexplode or leak if recharged. The recharging may be performed safelywith little or no discernable heat generation. Once the recharge iscomplete the battery may be inspected to determine that no leak hasoccurred and the battery may then be reused instead of disposed.

A combined waveform, as shown in FIG. 9, may be used in a chargingsystem for charging alkaline batteries. The system combines DirectCurrent (DC), see graph 910 used to charge a DC battery with AlternatingCurrent (AC), see graph 900, which perform chemical compound ionreversals at a sufficient speed to allow the DC to penetrate the layersof stratified charges created in the alkaline battery during normal usedischarge. These stratified charge layers normally act as resistances toDC charging when standard DC battery chargers are employed in an attemptto recharge alkaline batteries. The stratified layers may act ascapacitors to DC, not allowing them to pass the charged layer, butrather resist the DC and create heat and resulting pressure that caneventually leak. The combination of the signals, see graph 920, resultsin a superposition of one signal over the other, thus allowing for DC topass the layer and affect the reversal of the deepest chemicalcompounds. The result is that the battery may be opened up to chargingand allows safe charging to occur.

This process is not limited to the circuit used in current chargingdemonstrations, but may be affected by many like circuits producingeffective charging signals. The one thing in common in all circuitsutilizing this technology is the mixture of AC and DC.

An exemplary charging diagram employing this method is shown in FIG. 10,though other signal combinations in the nature of this approach willalso have the desired effect. AC or DC power supply 1000 is shownconnecting to combined waveform signal generator 1010, which iselectronically coupled to positive battery electrode 1040 and negativebattery electrode 1050. Battery voltage measurement symbol 1020 andbattery schematic symbol 1030 are also shown. A device employing one ormore embodiments of the charging method represented by the diagram ofFIG. 10 may be used to recharge the alkaline batteries for use in theinvention as herein described.

While the invention herein disclosed has been described by means ofspecific embodiments and applications thereof, numerous modificationsand variations could be made thereto by those skilled in the art withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention set forth in the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A battery charging apparatus comprising: a casehaving a bottom surface and a vertical portion attached to the bottomsurface in a substantially perpendicular configuration that defines avolume of space above the bottom surface, and dimensions defining anedge at the top of the vertical portion; a case top having an edge withdimensions matching the dimensions of the edge of at the top of thevertical portion of the case, wherein the edge of the case top isconfigured to removably couple to the edge of the case to sealablyenclose the space within the case; a plurality of batteries placedwithin the case in a vertical manner and with adjacent positions withrespect to each other so that each battery in the plurality is adjacentto at least two other batteries in the plurality, wherein each batteryin the plurality has a positive connection at a first end and a negativeconnection at the opposite end, wherein batteries in the plurality aredisposed in opposing configurations so that batteries in the pluralityhaving positive connections facing upwards are next to neighboringbatteries with negative connections facing upwards; a circuit boardplaced beneath the case top and above the plurality of batteries and incontact with connections facing upwards on the plurality of batteries; acircuit panel placed above the bottom surface of the case and below theplurality of batteries and in contact with connections facing downwardson the plurality of batteries, the circuit board and circuit panelconnecting the plurality of batteries electrically in series bycircuitry; and an electrical connector, the electrical connector havinga positive lead and a negative lead coupled with the plurality ofbatteries and providing electrical current from the plurality ofbatteries to an interface with a target battery.
 2. The battery chargingapparatus of claim 1, wherein the interface with a target batterycomprises a lighter plug.
 3. The battery charging apparatus of claim 1,wherein the interface with a target battery comprises leads to fit onthe target battery.
 4. The battery charging apparatus of claim 1,wherein the circuitry that connects the plurality electrically in seriesfurther comprises a charging circuit having a switch, which, when set toa back position, allows current to flow from the target battery throughan inductor regulated by a voltage regulator to the plurality ofbatteries.
 5. The battery charging apparatus of claim 4, wherein theswitch, when set to a front position, allows current to flow from theplurality of batteries to the target battery.
 6. The battery chargingapparatus of claim 1, further comprising a status circuit, the statuscircuit including a light, the light illuminating when the targetbattery has a voltage greater than a threshold amount.
 7. The batterycharging apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a protection circuit,the protection circuit limiting the current flow to and from theplurality of batteries, the protection circuit having at least oneresistor in series with the positive lead.
 8. The battery chargingapparatus of claim 7, wherein the at least one resistor is enclosed in athermally conductive, electrically insulating material.
 9. The batterycharging apparatus of claim 7, wherein the at least one resister ismounted on the circuit board.
 10. The battery charging apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the circuit board comprises an epoxy based substrate.11. The battery charging apparatus of claim 1, further comprising acompressive insert within the case, the compressive insert forcing theplurality of batteries within the case into contact with the circuitboard and the circuit panel.
 12. The battery charging apparatus of claim1, wherein the plurality of batteries comprises AA batteries.
 13. Thebattery charging apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality ofbatteries comprises batteries from the group consisting ofalkaline/alkaline manganese batteries, zinc carbon/carbon zincbatteries, zinc air batteries, silver oxide/silver batteries, lithiumbatteries, nickel cadmium batteries, nickel metal hydride batteries,lithium ion batteries, and small sealed lead acid batteries.
 14. Thebattery charging apparatus of claim 1, wherein the target batterycomprises an automobile battery.
 15. A battery charging apparatuscomprising: a case having a bottom surface and a vertical portionattached to the bottom surface in a substantially perpendicularconfiguration that defines a volume of space above the bottom surface,and dimensions defining an edge at the top of the vertical portion; acase top having an edge with dimensions matching the dimensions of theedge of at the top of the vertical portion of the case, wherein the edgeof the case top is configured to removably couple to the edge of thecase to sealably enclose the space within the case; a plurality ofbatteries placed within the case in a vertical manner and with adjacentpositions with respect to each other, wherein each battery in theplurality has a positive connection at a first end and a negativeconnection at the opposite end, wherein batteries in the plurality aredisposed in opposing configurations; a circuit board placed within thecase and in electrical contact with the plurality of batteries; acircuit panel also placed within the case and in electrical contact withthe plurality of batteries such that the circuit board and circuit panelconnect the plurality of batteries electrically in series by circuitry;and an electrical connector, the electrical connector having a positivelead and a negative lead coupled with the plurality of batteries andproviding electrical current from the plurality of batteries to aninterface with a target battery.
 16. A battery charging apparatuscomprising: a case having a bottom surface and a vertical portionattached to the bottom surface in a substantially perpendicularconfiguration that defines a volume of space above the bottom surface,and dimensions defining an edge at the top of the vertical portion; acase top having an edge with dimensions matching the dimensions of theedge of at the top of the vertical portion of the case, wherein the edgeof the case top is configured to removably couple to the edge of thecase to sealably enclose the space within the case; a plurality ofbatteries placed within the case in a vertical manner and with adjacentpositions with respect to each other so that each battery in theplurality is adjacent to at least two other batteries in the plurality,wherein each battery in the plurality has a positive connection at afirst end and a negative connection at the opposite end; a circuit boardplaced beneath the case top and above the plurality of batteries and incontact with connections facing upwards on the plurality of batteries; acircuit panel placed above the bottom surface of the case and below theplurality of batteries and in contact with connections facing downwardson the plurality of batteries, wherein the circuit board and circuitpanel connects the plurality of batteries electrically by circuitry; andan electrical connector, the electrical connector having a positive leadand a negative lead coupled with the plurality of batteries andproviding electrical current from the plurality of batteries to aninterface with a target battery.